Abstract: Objective To investigate the correlation of blood glucose and inflammatory markers with airflow limitation, treatment and prognosis and clinical significance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 
Methods A total of 102 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD were selected, including 30 cases of airflow limitation grade Ⅱ, 38 cases of grade Ⅲ, and 34 cases of grade Ⅳ. Blood glucose, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-17 (IL-17) were compared between patients with different airflow limitation classification.Pearson analysis was performed to analyze the correlation of blood glucose, TNF-α and IL-17 with airflow limitation classification,and of blood glucose with TNF-α and IL-17.Blood glucose and inflammatory indicators of patients with different treatment outcomes before treatment, at 1 d after treatment, and at 3 d after treatment were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) analysis were used to analyze the value of blood glucose, TNF-α and IL-17 in predicting treatment outcomes at 1 d after treatment and 3 d after treatment. 
Results The blood glucose, TNF-α and IL-17 of the patients with airflow limitation grades Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ were higher than those of patients with grade Ⅱ (P＜0.05). Blood glucose, TNF-α, and IL-17 were positively correlated with airflow limitation classification (r=0.778, 0.828, 0.731, all P＜0.001), and blood glucose was positively correlated with TNF-α and IL-17 (r=0.830, 0.812, both P＜0.001). With prolongation of treatment time, the blood glucose, TNF-α and IL-17 in the good group were decreased gradually (P＜0.001), while there was no significant difference in blood glucose, TNF-α, IL-17 in the poor group, and the difference of interaction between groups, time points and time points between groups were statistically significant (P＜0.05). At 3 d after treatment, the area under the curve (AUC) of each index in predicting the prognosis was greater than that at 1 d after treatment, and the AUC of blood glucose, TNF-α combined with IL-17 in predicting the prognosis of the treatment was the largest at 3 d after treatment. 
Conclusion Blood glucose, TNF-α and IL-17 are related to COPD airflow limitation and treatment prognosis. Combined detection is expected to be a reliable solution to predict treatment prognosis, so as to provide reference for clinical treatment and promote the relief of symptoms and conditions of patients. 

Key words: pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive, blood sugar, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-17